Facebook users helped solved the mystery of a gilded object unearthed in Jerusalem after a stumped Antiquities Authority in Israel turned to the social networking site for help in identifying it.
Head of the Israel Antiquities robbery prevention unit, Amor Ganor, notes that his team had struggled for nearly six months to determine the origin of the rolling pin-shaped object, according to NBC News.
"To tell you the truth I've never seen anything like this before," Ganor said.
Upon its discovery by a groundskeeper at a graveyard, the object was believed to have been an explosive. It was handed over to police, who in turn called in a bomb squad to conduct a controlled explosion. The object was undamaged, thus proving that the object wasn't explosive.
After getting clearance, the Antiquities Authority x-rayed the object and analyzed its materials, Ganor said, according to FOX News.
Experts soon thought the relic had military applications, but when that thought didn't pan out, the authority posted a picture of the object on Facebook looking for help.
Within hours, the object was identified as a Weber Isis Beamer, a German-made New Age device that claims to create "a protective field" against radiation "intended for the use of naturopaths and people dealing with energy healing," according to the Indo Asian News Service.
"The wisdom of the masses has done its part," the Authority said on Tuesday.
An Italian man named Micah Barak has been credited with solving the mystery. He has been invited to Jerusalem to see the relic up close.
